I've ordered well in advance and called to reconfirm my meals 24hrs in advance. I ordered vegan meals on my last four flights, and each time I get a vegetarian meal that included butter, and cheese, once a yogurt, once an egg bun. And, it wasn't lactaid yogurt or any of that crap...it was just normal lowfat blueberry yogurt. Once they gave me a "Happy Meal" by mistake. Excuse-me, I'm 21 years old, and I passed by that stage a LONG time ago.

They seem to give you the same thing, whether you get non-lactose, lacto-ovo, vegan, or just plain vegetarian.

A vegetarian is not just a vegetarian!! Do they just prepare a bunch of lacto-ovo meals and hope those of us who don't eat dairy products can just pick off the parts we don't like???

Plus, the food they serve is so horrible. The entrees are ALWAYS overcooked, drizzled in some yucky sauce, the lettuce is wilted, and desserts are sickeningly sweet, the fruit plates are mushy, the rolls are stale. Don't give me that shit about how bad airline food is...I've flown on many airlines and none has ever been as bad as United.

Also why do United's Video systems keep failing. On my last A320 flight, they said that the screens wouldn't come down. And, then on a 757, there was some other malfunction.

Well, you must either be the type of person who finds something bad with everything, or just be really un-lucky.

I for one am happy to recieve ANY meal while I am flying anymore. It seems to me that United is one of the few airlines that actually serves meals on most domestic flights of more than two hours. Sure, it might not be excuisite (spelling?), but it sure beats nothing. I also think a warm meal beats the "sky deli" type meals that you get on most other airlines for shorter domestic flights. Plus, United has Starbucks Coffee, frappuccino, and other quality products that are not offered on other airlines. Maybe you should try bringing your own meals on the airplane...since your eating habits are so difficult to fulfill.

As far as entertainment goes, I think United also leads the pack here (at least as far as major US Airlines go). United offers audio entertainment on nearly every aircraft, offers video on many, free movies whenever they are showing them, as well as "from the cockpit". United may not be no. 1 in customer service right now, and they are surely having some BAD labor problems, but I think their inflight service is tops in the nation.

But then again...maybe I'm the only one who's had good experiences on United?

I agree with what everyone has said. They have thousands and thousands of passengers to worry about each day and they can't suit the needs of just one passenger. They try their hardest and they do serve quite good meals on their flight.

A bun and some cheese is a vegetarian meal!! If you don't want that I recommend that you pack your own lunch because you are not forced to eat the meals.

Most of the majors try to cater to the individual eating preferences of their passengers by providing by request a wide range of meal choies from Vegan to Kosher to Low Fat, etc. and for the most part, do a pretty good job of it. Some people are just hard to please like Agnusbymaster, i.e. it's too salty, overcooked, dried out, contains butter, has a bun, doesn't have a bun, has blueberry yogurt instead of plain, etc.,etc. blah, blah, blah. United's food service is great and better than most and I think that Agnusbymaster should perhaps reconsider that Happy Meal since he/she is acting like a spoiled child.

BoyShane... you prove his point even better than he originally did when you said:

"They have thousands and thousands of passengers to worry about each day and they can't suit the needs of just one passenger."

The difference between a great airline and a good airline is that the really good ones treat you as a person and not as part of a group of thousands of passengers. Too many airlines, United included, have gotten so big that they have lost that personal feeling, and that is exactly what the problem here is.

Maybe I am strange, but I have no problem with United Airlines. In fact I love them (as you might infer from my user name) As far as meals go I have enjoyed everything I have ever had on a United flight. In December I flew from Los Angeles to Melbourne in business class. The flight is over 14 hours and I expected that the food and service might slip a little considering the length of the journey. After takeoff dinner was served. The food was delicious. Special meal requests were filled in my very cabin. I sat next to a woman who received a special meal with no disappointment. The service was very precise. My glass was never empty and water pitchers were brought down the aisle every five minutes. I thought the breakfast served before landing would be cold after a trans-pacific flight, but the entrée was warm, the fruit was crisp, and the melon was juicy.
I have only experienced one entertainment system problem on a United flight. (I have been on over 100 flights in my lifetime. Most on United) The flight was from London to San Francisco. When the problem was discovered before departure, the United representative went to the newsagent at Heathrow and bought almost the whole store. Every magazine and publication from around the world was available on the flight in all three cabins.
I really enjoy United Airlines service. I believe they have a commitment to passenger comfort and satisfaction. With a little bit of patience and understanding any inconvenience can be solved. United is no exception to the rule that no airline is perfect, but I have very few complaints.

Excuse my ignorance, but what the hell is the difference between a vegetarian meal and what he ordered? I looked at United's site and I can't find "vegan" in any of the meals you are allowed to request. This guy sounds a little picky to me. Eat the damn food, if you don't want it - don't eat. United is still one of a few that still serve meals on domestic. If you ate normally, maybe you could enjoy the edible food they serve to the rest of us.

On Channel 9 (I think...) of the audio system on board most United flights, you can hear radio communication between the cockpit and ATC ( you can also hear other traffic talking with ATC on that same frequncy). Pretty neat for "backseat pilots" like myself...let's me know what's going on.
It is at the Captain's discretion I think...on one or two flights I was on, it was not available.

The guy has legit gripe. If he wanted a flight without entertainment or food, he could have taken any number of no-frills carriers (assuming that one flies to his destination from his home airport). And vegan meal is different from vegetarian meal. It's a slap in the face- it's just as bad as serving pork to muslims. It must have been bad seeing everyone around him eating except for himself because UA screwed up.

Rather than blaming the airlines, maybe blame your travel agent or booking clerk as their are 2 diff vegetarian meals United Airlines offer, and they have 2 different code and perhaps the right one was not entered into your booking.

For all UA fans out there...let's not get too sensitive. The guy obviously has had a bad experiences with United far too often. As much as I respect your fierce loyaly to the airline, understand that UA service has slipped and that many customers have been alienated. I am sure there are many who have had good experiences with UA, but believe me, there are others who have not. I used to think UA was the best US carrier and remained loyal for several years. I no longer think so. Improvements can only be made if there is a recognition that something is wrong. I do hope that UA finds a way to be more responsive to customers and return to their former service levels. As I told the SQ fans before: don't take it personally. Your favorite airline can make mistakes.

Angus 'aint my real name, but it was the most popular female baby name as of around 1900.

Call me Angie.

Let me make my original point clear. I have not only ordered vegan meals, but re-confirmed them with the airline. Each time, they've served me something containing dairy products, forgotten the special meal or served an entirely different special meal.

This smacks of a disorganized airline. Sure, I could complain about the endless delays, but I understand ther reasons. What I don't understand is why United can't even figure out which meals they're supposed to have on board.

On my last trip (including 5 United flights) they also seemed a bit disorganized, although I considered them adequate; they brought be everywhere I wanted them to bring me, that's what an airline is for, I believe. Check my report
http://www.airliners.net/discussions/trip_reports/read.main/5433/

1. I am almost 22 and order McDonalds kids meals when I can and am flying REVENUE. You get more food and it's always consistent.

2. Food is no longer handled by United. They sold their kitchens back in 1992. Food is handled by an outside contractor. So for your meal problems, contact United and REVERIFY your food order each time.

For Example, National Airlines in Midway has had many issues w/ the food vendor their. A few times, they have been missing the entire First class cabin meals, plates and saucers, butter dishes, etc... even got all the carts mixed up.

And as to your meal, just be happy united gives you 38 meal choice options. Call TWA and ask how many they have... like 4?

I believe United has the best food service out there. The last few flights I have the taking the food was actually...dare I say it...pretty good. And the starbucks is great=) ....But I do have some problems with their entertainment=P ...I have only been on their 727's and none that I have flown on have been equipped with audio...and thats out of 8 flights. Now a quick question....I have choice this summer of flying on an a319 , 737-300 , or a 737-500...would any of these be equipped with that channel 9 thing? that sounds incredibly cool.

Airlines often get meal choices wrong. My advice is to take your own meals especially if you have special dietary restrictions. I remember flying on a TWA flight from Cairo to JFK where the FAs got the meals all messed up - the American non-muslim pax received the special muslim halal meals, whereas the muslims were stuck with the regular meal options. More often than not, the FAs are clueless about what exactly vegan, kosher, etc really mean. Unfortunately, that level of cluelessness often extends to the catering staff too, or at least the people who enter hte info into the database.

I fly United twice a month and they are no worse than any other airline. I just got off an America West flight from LAS to TPA...it was an A320 and the video and audio systems were both shut down due to a mechanical problem. Don't bitch about United please...they still offer a superior service than any of the others...and their interiors are the prettiest. Sounds like you just wouldn't be happy with anything. Oh, by the way, airlines are airlines, not restaurants.

25 ILUV767
: My grandpa always told me" You dont go on to an airplane to get fed, you go to get from point A to point B, and should be lucky if you get anything!"

26 Ampropilot2b
: I think all of those aircraft should have "from the cockpit"...I know the 320 does, the 737s should also. I would say go for the 320 if you can...more

27 Onedoorboy
: I've seen you all defend United and I agree that they do have their share of problems. They are a larger airline so they will get more complaints than

28 Roberson
: Airlines are never required to serve food or cater to the preferences of passengers. One thing I like about lowfare carriers such as Southwest, Vangua